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The Sangam period (Tamil: சங்ககால பருவம், Cankakāla paruvam ?), or Last Cankam period (Tamil: கடைச்சங்க பருவம், Kaṭaiccanka paruvam ?)[1] , or Third Cankam period (Tamil: மூன்றாம் சங்க பருவம், Mūnṟām canka paruvam ?) is the classical period in the history of Tamilakam, spanning about the 3rd century BCE to the 3rd century CE. It is named for the Tamil Sangams or "assemblies".
In Old Tamil, the term Tamizhagam (Tamiḻakam தமிழகம், Purananuru 168.18) referred to the whole of the "Ancient Tamil country," as distinct from the many kingdoms that existed within its boundaries,[2] corresponding roughly to the area known as South India today, including the territories of the present-day Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Laccadives, parts of Andhra Pradesh and some parts of Karnataka, as well as Sri Lanka and the Maldives.[3][4][5]
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Approximately during the period between 350 BCE to 200 CE, Tamilakam was ruled by the three Tamil dynasties of Chola, Pandya and Chera, and a few independent chieftains, the Velir.
There is a wealth of sources detailing the history, socio-political environment and cultural practices of ancient Tamilakam, including volumes of literature and epigraphy.[4]
Tamilakam's history is split into three periods; prehistoric, classical (see Sangam period) and medieval. A vast array of literary, epigraphical and inscribed sources from around the world provide insight into the socio-political and cultural occurrences in the Tamil nation.
The religion of the ancient Tamils closely followed the roots of nature worship and some claim it close to its contemporary in North India, Vedic Hinduism. Tolkappiyam, one of the oldest grammar work in Tamil mentions Kottravai (Mother goddess) Sevvael (Murugan), Thirumaal, Vendhan (Indra) and Varunan .Other ancient works refer to Mayon (Krishna) and Balarama. The influence of Hinduism in Tamil literature rose again during the Bhakti period which documented the people organizing into Saivam(Shiva) and Vaishnavam(Vishnu). The most popular deity was Murugan, who has from a very early date been identified with Karthikeya, the son of Siva. Muruga might have been a different deity originally stemming from a local deity. According to the noted expert on Tamil culture Kamil V. Zvelebil, "Subrahmanya-Murugan is one of the most complicated and baffling deities for analysis". The later(medieval to present) worship of Amman or Mariamman, thought to have been derived from Kotravai, an ancient mother goddess, also was very common. Kannagi, the heroine of the Cilappatikaram, was worshipped as Pathini by many Tamils, particularly in Sri Lanka. There were also many temples and devotees of Thirumaal, Siva, Ganapathi, and the other common Hindu deities.
In the ancient Sangam literature, the Tamil landscape was classified into five categories, thinais, based on the mood, season and the land. Each of these thinai had an associated deity such as Mayavan, Velavan, etc.
The ancient Tamil calendar was based on the sidereal year similar to the ancient Hindu solar calendar, except that months were from solar calculations, and originally there was no 60 year cycle as seen in Sanskrit calendar. The year was made up of twelve months and every two months constituted a season. With the popularity of Mazhai vizhavu, traditionally commencement of Tamil year was clubbed on April 14, deviating from the astronomical date of vadavazhi vizhavu.
Musicians, stage artists and performers entertained the kings, the nobility, the rich and the general population. Groups of performers included:
Together with the poets (pulavar) and the academic scholars (saandror), these people of talent appeared to originate from all walks of life, irrespective of their native profession.
The land was divided into five types- Kurinji, Mullai, Marutam, Neithal and Paalai . The ancient Tamil people were divided into five different clans (kudi) based on their profession. They were
All the five kudi constituted a typical settlement, which was called an Ur or Oor. Later each clan spread across the land, formed individual settlements of their own and concentrated into towns, cities and countries. Thus the Vaelir settled in North Tamil Nadu and South Andhra Pradesh, while the Malavar came to live in Kerala, West Tamil Nadu, East Andhra Pradesh and South Sri Lanka. The Naagar inhabited South and East Tamil Nadu, and North Sri Lanka, while the Kadambar settled in Central Tamil Nadu first and later moved to West Karnataka. The Thiraiyar inhabitated throughout the coastal regions . Later various subsects were formed based on more specific professions in each of the five landscapes .
Empires or large kingdoms were the Cholas, the Pandya and the Cheras. The small kingdoms and city states amidst these were:
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